Our series on racism as a risk factor for atrocity crimes begins with a conversation between Clint Smith and Savita Pawnday. Clint Smith is an American writer, poet, and scholar. His book, How the Word Is Passed, examines the legacy of American slavery and how it continues to impact society today. Savita Pawnday is the Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. She is a foremost expert on the international norm of the Responsibility to Protect and atrocity prevention. Together they discuss how identity, racism, and memory are connected to atrocity crimes, and systemic human rights violations that shock the conscience.